Job Description of a Software Quality Assurance Manager

By Johnny Kilhefner ; Updated July 05, 2017

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Software quality assurance managers work out the kinks in software before and after release. Also known as QA managers, they test and maintain their company's existing software and make recommendations on how to improve it and avoid future problems. To find potential problems and bugs in software, QA managers set up testing parameters for their software testers to follow and guidelines for them to use when making recommendations.

Education and Background

Software quality-assurance managers usually hold a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software architecture or a similar field. Managers may benefit from a business degree as well. Most begin their careers as lower-level software testers, whom QA managers oversee, and work their way up. Essential QA managers should continue to grow their knowledge in software and gain certification in the relevant areas pertaining to their industry.

Skills

To do their job competently, QA managers need a certain skill set. Being in charge of quality assurance requires an understanding of computer software architecture and design. Such skills help them to be better leaders to their software testers. What's more, QA managers should be familiar with encoding techniques, knowing multiple coding languages, such as C++, JavaScript and HTML. Though other organizational members do the coding work, QA managers should know code to make specific recommendations to the relevant channels.

Duties

Software quality-assurance managers spend most of their time at a desk and in meetings. QA managers design the tests for their software testers to use when looking for bugs. They then follow up with clients, management, or colleagues with their recommendations. Afterward, QA managers are responsible for continuing to monitor the performance of the software, running random tests to confirm it is bug-free.

Career Outlook

Software quality-assurance managers are in a specialized area of software development. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an industry growth of 30 percent between 2010 and 2020, a rate higher than the national average of all occupations. Further, BLS estimates that the average software developer earns $90,530. Software QA managers, according to the jobsite Indeed, earn an average of $110,000.

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About the Author

Johnny Kilhefner is a writer with a focus on technology, design and marketing. Writing for more than five years, he has contributed to Writer's Weekly, PopMatters, Bridged Design and APMP, among many other outlets.